


hello, fiend

by prongsprobably



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Identity Issues, LadyNoir - Freeform, Major Chat Noir/Ladybug, Major Ladybug/Adrien, Mutual Pining, Pining, Romantic Fluff, Secret Identity, Thief AU, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, and written when i should be sleeping so, i am only capable of writing fluff, i should be studying, it's my first ladynoir and ladrien centric fic!!!!, ladrien, no beta we die like men, spy AU, that somehow became
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 21:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20627756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prongsprobably/pseuds/prongsprobably
Summary: This was standard operation. Ladybug would associate herself with the people in the crowd while Chat Noir located the item. He would create the Distraction, Ladybug would swipe the item, and they leave the place in one piece. Fu would meet them at a convenient yacht by the port, thank them, and then dismiss them. They would go their separate ways, until he called for them again. It was standard, it was routine, and somehow Ladybug was kind of sick of it. Chat Noir said one time that despite being routine, these missions were the most thrilling time of his life. While she didn't relate, she does sympathize. After all—"Mind if I join you? I'll keep my hand to my self, purromise."—it was only during these missions that she got to hear Chat's smooth velvet baritone that curls her toes and shoots a heat straight down to her core.  // AU where Chat Noir and Ladybug are out on a mission to retrieve a miraculous but they can't stop flirting with each other. Ladrien ensues.





	hello, fiend

**Author's Note:**

> this one has been sitting in my drafts for a long time. i have a few ideas on what could happen next, but not enough ideas to turn those into another fic, so this stays as a one-shot for now. and it's really... short, i think? shorter than my usual. anyway, i hope you still have fun! xx
> 
> edited 9/14/2019.

_ skin on my skin, what a wonderful sin _

_ take your breath but you're asking for more _

Thief // ** _Ansel Elgort_ **

* * *

Ladybug liked her outfit tonight.

It was a shame she'd have to throw it out later, as per company policy. For secret identity purposes, she wasn't allowed to wear a Dupain-Cheng Original—Fu didn't want random people who might prod into it make a connection between her and her civilian identity. However, that didn't stop her from modifying the dress she was given into her own creation—it was something she couldn't help, prone to creative bouts every once and awhile. 

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she liked the way it turned out. It was simple and elegant, a charming red that flattered her well. Her hair, down in plain waves tonight, just brushed above her shoulders, and the red burlesque mask concealed most half of her face as well. Chat Noir, in particular, was very vocal about his appreciation since he saw her arrive.

"Absolutely ravishing," he had commented, in a low purring voice that definitely was designed to weaken her knees. 

She and Chat Noir were, well, sort of partners in this job. They weren't partnered immediately at first, but since their successful mission in Morocco Fu decided to pair them up in as many missions as he can. Ladybug can't blame him, her and Chat's teamwork was exceptional, and she wasn't as quick and efficient without him around. Still, sometimes she got the feeling that Chat kept pestering Fu about it, as he was relentless in trying to ask her out on a date despite the non-spoken work rule: 'no office romance'. It simply didn't bode well for their line of work. 

"Say Ladybug, anything you're doing later tonight?" 

"Bath," she replied through the comm conveniently tucked under her earrings. "I want to soak in a bath so bad and stay there until I die."

This was standard operation. Ladybug would associate herself with the people in the crowd while Chat Noir located the item. He would create the Distraction, Ladybug would swipe the item, and they leave the place in one piece. Fu would meet them at a convenient yacht by the port, thank them, and then dismiss them. They would go their separate ways, until he called for them again. It was standard, it was routine, and somehow Ladybug was kind of sick of it. Chat Noir said one time that despite being routine, these missions were the most thrilling time of his life. While she didn't relate, she does sympathize. After all—

"Mind if I join you? I'll keep my hand to my self, _purr_omise." 

—it was only during these missions that she got to hear Chat's smooth velvet baritone that curls her toes and shoots a heat straight down to her core. 

"Why don't I believe you," she murmured to herself, eyeing the crowd. The mayor's daughter just walked in, blinding everyone with the light-reflective sequins at the trail of her gown, hem dancing and fluttering as she moved. The gown was, admittedly, good. The wearer? Well, Ladybug has reservations. 

"Why, My Lady!" Chat gasped mockingly through the earpiece. "If you must know, I'm actually a perfect gentlecat!" 

"You missed a pun, chaton. A bit distracted tonight, are we?" 

"How can I not, when you look so exquisite just five steps away from me, yet completely untouchable?"

Her heart stuttered and she forced herself to not look around. "You're here?"

That's new. Usually he's just lurking in the shadows until he creates his distraction. "Are you going to show yourself to me?" 

"No," Chat Noir purred. "I'm afraid I can't. I went as my civilian self."

"What?" she hissed, acting like she didn't surreptitiously glance around her for someone who might be looking at her and paying attention, turning her back to the crowd to gesture at the bartender for a drink. "Chat, you're insane. What if someone finds out who you are?"

"Who? You?" his laugh was breathy and short. "My Lady, I trust you with my life."

"_Chat_." She didn't want to sound so scolding. She wanted to find out who he is too, so badly that sometimes it wakes her with a certain ache in the middle of the night. She could be in her cubicle making a new design to present to her boss and her thoughts would stray to this elusive partner, wonder what he's doing, if it's noon and he's eaten, if he got home alright, if he was safe and happy. Wonder was always a word associated with Chat Noir, because for him she wondered. Often. Always. At any possible moment. 

"I know, I know, secret identity," Chat sounded like he was pouting. "But I had to attend this event as my civilian identity, and I couldn't get out of it, so I hit two birds with one stone. Pretty smart, don't you think?" 

"A bit idiotic too," she remarked. "Does Fu know?" 

The silence from the other line told her. Someone across the bar, about three seats away, a guy with black hair winked when he saw her looking. Ladybug did a double-take. "Please tell me you're not the guy with the black hair and the silver suit.:

"What? No!"

Her relief was audible. She was just about to give him the scolding of his life for risking his identity like _that _when someone tapped her shoulder, rough fingers brushing her bare skin and she spun with her eyes wide. The boy's hair was blond like effervescent sunlight, and his eyes were green spring. She already saw him one too many times to not recognize his face, even with the black mask covering his eyes. "Adrien Agreste?" 

The Agreste heir blinked, surprised, as he tugged at his mask as if self consciously, giving her a slight smile. "You recognized me that fast? Even with the mask on?" 

Actually, Ladybug had been afraid she was not going to recognize who approached. Then she'd only assume it's Chat Noir, who was the only one who knew that she was here in this entire room. She let out a sigh of relief and quickly picked her expression up, flashing a wan smile. "Let's say I'm a bit of a fashion person myself. What brought you here?"

"Oh, umm," he shifted, a hand lifting to rub the back of his neck in a sheepish motion she used to see just in photoshoots. "It's just... you look very pretty?"

Ladybug blinked. A warm blush was settling right underneath her mask, but she couldn't bring herself to stutter or fall apart, especially not right now, when he's looking at her like _that_. "You don't sound very sure."

"You look _gorgeous_," he said firmly, amending his earlier statement, and her blush returned with a vengeance. "And you look like you needed the company."

"That's very thoughtful of you, thank you," Ladybug moved so he could take the place next to her. "You're right, I'm new to this kind of stuff. Can't say the same about you, though, right?"

"Yes," he laughed. "In fact, I think I already had too much of it to consider it fun, but it's an obligation so it's not something I can totally refuse."

"Well, since you're the expert," she hid a grin behind her hand. "Mind walking me through?"

His eyes lit up, and he started telling her stories about the different people in the room, the same people he got to socialize with, as he said, when he was young. Some wore such unconventional outfits that just didn't... go well with the theme, and some are just too lackluster. Adrien recounted many tales about mishaps and malfunctions, worst of it perhaps was the third-hand embarrassment she got just by hearing it.

This was a stark difference in how their regular interactions go. Regular, as in, Adrien Agreste with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the designer working under his father. Though really, she couldn't blame him—how is he going to keep up a conversation with someone who responds with sounds undecipherable to human ears?

All too soon it had to end, because a harried-looking Nathalie came to approach them, informing Adrien that his Father wanted to introduce him to an important personality. She threw Ladybug a scrutinizing look, but she turned her head to the side so she was half-hidden by the shadows. Adrien assured Nathalie that he would follow, but he didn't seem very enthusiastic about it.

"Go on," Ladybug prodded him. "M. Agreste is waiting for you, and you did say it's an obligation. I won't disappear, you know."

Lie. But necessary. Adrien gave her a small smile and squeezed her shoulder. "I know. Save a dance for me?"

"Sure, Adrien," her lip quirked, watching him walk away, but something made him turn at the last second. "Oh, right! I didn't think I caught your name?"

Oh no. His eyes sparkled like starlight. Ladybug felt herself blush and she cleared her throat, turning so she leaned over the bar instead as she gazed at the crowd and then to Adrien's. "I'm sorry, I can't tell. I'll get in trouble with my boss if he finds out I'm here."

Two of them, actually. Marinette's boss and Ladybug's boss.

His smile slipped a little, tilting his head like a curious puppy. "Even if I promise I won't tell?" 

The corner of her lip twitched into a smirk and she approached him closer, flicking an imaginary speck of dust away from his suit. "Sorry, hot stuff. I just can't take the risk."

Ladybug winked before leaving him by himself, and Marinette's face flamed a distinct shade of red that was almost like the color she wore. That move almost felt liberating, like a rush of adrenaline. Almost a year into this line of work and she still wasn’t used to it.

“Chat?” she mumbled into the comm. “Have you located the item?”

“Hmm? Oh yes,” he cleared his throat. “Distracted, were you? Hot stuff, was it?”

She couldn’t detect if he was just teasing her or if he was jealous. “You heard that?”

“My Lady, you have a comm in your person directly linked to me, of course I’d hear it,” he sounded like he was smirking. Not jealous, then. Though why was she getting the feeling that he seemed a bit… smug? “Anyway, I’ll create a distraction for you in t-minus five minutes. You have exactly fifteen seconds after that. Why don’t you ask hot stuff for a dance to get you closer? Your target’s on the dance floor.”

“Which is?”

“Lila Rossi. That Italian lady in the lavender strapless gown, crystals on her coral mask. The necklace is dangling right of her neck.”

Ladybug sidled up with the crowd, craning her neck. “Found it. What distraction are you doing?”

“You’ll know it when it happens, bug. Get that dance with the boy and get closer to her. It’s hitting two birds with one stone.”

“_Why _do you insist that I dance with Adrien Agreste? I was assuming you’d be a bit more bummed, since you’re—” well, she couldn’t exactly finish her sentence. Chat Noir was… Chat Noir was what?

Fortunately, he picked up where she trailed off. “—madly in love with you? I know, I surprise myself too. But if there’s anybody in this room that I’d rather you dance with, it’s him. He doesn’t seem very threatening.”

“Oh?” Ladybug tried to keep down her laughter in case people were looking at her. “What if I tell you that pretty boys with blond hair are exactly my type?”

She shifted her gaze again, and somehow found familiar green eyes looking back at her. Ladybug didn’t know either how, but it was Adrien Agreste again, looking at her while talking to someone beside him.

“Oh, bug. What if I tell you that _ I _have blond hair too?”

For some reason, Adrien started walking towards her and she—well, she didn’t want to assume that it’s her he’s walking to, but _ now _he definitely was, with that small genuine smile that she swore lit up the room.

"Excuse me, miss," he said with a mischievous smile. "I believe I was promised with a dance?"

He sounded a bit too hopeful to sound like a jerk. Ladybug couldn't help but roll her eyes fondly as she took his hand and allowed herself to be swept away as Adrien took her to the dance floor. Some turned to look at them and watched, but none paid significant attention. If it was Marinette, she’d be grimacing at the number of people just watching, but this was Ladybug, and Ladybug wore a mask that both hid and protected her. She let Adrien lead the dance, slightly switching up their steps closer to her target as she counted down in her head.

“Tell me something about yourself,” Adrien started as another music began. “Anything you can share that wouldn’t lead me to connect you to your name?”

“I don’t know. I got a feeling that you’d know if you try hard enough.”

“Well… would it be really too bad if I knew who you are?”

The question made her pause, and her grip on his hand tightened. No, it wouldn’t hurt if he knew _ Marinette_. But after this night, if the item’s disappearance is going to be connected to her (it wouldn’t, but one could never be too sure), it can compromise her identity.

“Don’t sweat it, princess,” he squeezed her hand. “If you’re really uncomfortable, it’s okay.”

“Thank you for understanding," she smiled sweetly.

“You said you’re a fashion person. So, which are you? Model? Blogger? Enthusiast?” At the hesitant look on her face, he added quickly. "Just be vague about it?"

She supposed she could. This was usually the part where she makes up a character from scratch. But something about the way he looked at her compelled her to tell the truth, so she did. “I’m a designer… and a seamstress, I suppose.”

“Oh, wow, really? Then this dress—”

“No,” she lightly swept her hand downwards. “It was store-bought, but I tweaked it a bit to fit my taste.”

“It looks amazing on you,” he assured her. "You're a very talented designer, princess."

"Princess?" she asked in amusement. "That's twice you've called me that."

"Well, you won't tell me your name. I have to come up with something, right?"

“You're not wrong," Ladybug's eyes crinkled as she smiled. "It was just a surprise that my boss’s own son approached me out of the blue and now he even has a nickname for me.”

Something made Adrien stop and blink at her owlishly. “You work for my father?”

_ Ah, crap. _Stupid, stupid, stupid tongue. She was saved from answering when the lights completely shut down, shrouding the entire hall in darkness. Ladybug cursed under her breath, took a second to step closer to Adrien and press a kiss to what she hoped was his cheek. “I’m sorry. Thanks for the dance."

She quickly brushed by Lila and swiped her necklace, dropping it in a secret compartment hidden between her skirts as she rushed to exit the hall, careful to take the blind spots the cameras wouldn't see. And it all just took seven seconds. The Cinderella Act was a success.

The wind bit her skin as she recounted what happened, heart still pumping too loud with the adrenaline. Ladybug tried not to look to harried as she walked out, removing her various jewelry except for her earrings and throwing it inside her purse. She was already out of the venue's vicinity when the lights turned on again and the mayhem died down. "I got it." 

Silence. Ladybug tapped her earrings again, frowning. “Chat? Chat. Chat Noir?”

“I-I’m here,” he sounded a bit breathless. “Sorry. Did you get the thing?”

“Yes,” Ladybug made sure she was hidden in the alleyway before she took off the dress’s hoop skirt, taking out the necklace and shoving it in her purse. As for the dress, it got thrown into the dumpster too, revealing the bodysuit she wore underneath. “I’m on my way to Fu now to deliver this. Are you okay? You sound a bit weird?”

“Yes, I’m great,” Chat cleared his throat. “Sorry, this place is a mess. Are you gonna take that bath now? My offer’s still up you know, I can help scrub your back.”

Chat sounded like he was positively—_paw_sitively, he'd insist—smirking. Ladybug peeled off her mask, and in her place stood Marinette, who grinned fondly as she rolled her eyes. “You silly cat. Are you going to finish that party?"

"I have to," he sighed, and she wanted to laugh at how comical his misery sounded. "Why are you asking? You scouting out for my identity, bugaboo?"

"In your dreams, Chat Noir. And don't call me that," Marinette shrugged her denim jacket on, glancing both ways of the street before running out of the alley to disappear in the crowd. Her hand reached for the commlink under her ear, smiling to herself. "Until next time, then, mon minou."

There was a sigh. Marinette was certain he was smiling. “Until next time, my lady.”

**Author's Note:**

> tbh i don't know much about Lila yet, but she already sounds like a nightmare. 
> 
> Leave me comments if you want to! I try to reply because I don't really have other socmed accounts to thank you guys enough! xx
> 
> edit: I couldn't reply to your comments without editing aksdjalhfja my underslept self couldn't resist posting but once i woke up i immediately regretted it XD.


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